Note:I do not own Soul Eater or any of it's characters, those rights belong to Atsushi Okubo. This is rated M to be safe, due to dark subject matter and character death. If that sort of thing upsets you, please read no further. Otherwise, enjoy.

He's so, so terribly reckless.. It's never bothered her so much, not really, he could always back up his big talk with even bigger actions. It was like he was invincible, untouchable when he wanted to be, truly almost other worldly..

Nothing hurts more than being proven wrong. Standing beside his hospital bed, watching machines assist him in the simple task of breathing, she can't really even look at him without needing to fight the urge to cry. The only time he had even been so severely injured was after their battle with Mifune.

Even then, he could at least breathe on his own.

But sheer force of will only gets you so far…

The gashes and bruises that litter his face and arms are in that stage where they turn sickening yellows and greens, and she wishes she could cry, but knows that is he were awake, it would only hurt him more so she keeps herself composed in the hopes that he'll awaken just in time to see her being so strong.

Brain damage, they had said, the irreparable kind. The kind where the doctors apologize and advise pulling the plug for lack of better options. She feels so slighted. She almost laughed in their faces when they told her. Things like this didn't happen to people like him. It just didn't make any sense.

"We're sorry miss Nakatsukasa. We've done all we can. A miracle isn't impossible but.. It isn't likely either. His insurance runs out in three days.. you may want to consider your options."

Her ears ring and she feels dizzy. They're idiots, all of them. They don't know Black Star the way she does, he always pulls through.

Always.

Everyone visits frequently. Soul, and Maka with her wide forced smile, Liz, and Patti with her colourful hand drawn get well card. Kilik , he stays the longest, has a full blown conversation with the 'sleeping' boy as if nothing were out of order other than the moisture gathering at the corners of his eyes.

Ox and Harvar, Kim and Jackie, they all come by and offer their sympathy and prayers. Tsubaki appreciates it, all of it, she truly does.

Kid is last to arrive.

"Tsubaki, I'm sorry.. But this morning, his name got added-"

"No."

"Tsubaki there's nothing left to do. I can't change what shows up on my list.. trust me. I tried."

"I'm sorry.. but this needs to be done. The delayed reaping of a soul can cause so many problems for the soul itself and I swear this was never something I wanted to be around for, he was supposed to outlive all of us, surpass me and the world but that's… it's a mission for another life.." Kid takes a shaky breath and attempts to step closer to Star's bed but Tsubaki whirls on him and shoves him away, tears in her eyes, rage and denial radiating from her soul.

And now he sees it. The way her hands curl protectively over her abdomen, and the tiny flicker of a human soul coming into existence beneath them. Objectively, this should be such a beautiful, hopeful scene, the cycle is perfect.

One soul lost, another born from it. It's balanced perfectly, exquisite.

But this… there's nothing beautiful about it. Nothing lovely about the absolute anguish that rolls off this girl, nothing beautiful about the choppy, rhythmic mechanically induced breaths coming from the blue haired boy with the battered body. It's agonizing.

It's his duty.

He gently pushes past the weeping girl and grasps one of Black Star's frigid hands, turns back to Tsubaki and says,

"I'm so very sorry."

And now in his palm sits the brightest blue soul he has ever witnessed, vibrating with excitement and energy, and he doesn't even pretend that the moisture on his cheeks is anything other than tears.

He turns to Tsubaki, palm out as an offering, say goodbye while you can, and she cries, weeps openly now, hands cradling what had been her partner once, in another life. The vibrant orb hums pleasantly in her grasp, and she hugs it to her chest, one final attempt at closeness before he goes.

"We love you so much..s-so much.."

With that, she sets him free. Free to assimilate with the stars above and watch over his friends, just as he had done in his life past.

She has a little girl, and names her Andromeda.

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